In today’s digital landscape, safeguarding data is paramount. Azure Recovery Services Vaults (RSVs) play a crucial role in protecting sensitive information and ensuring business continuity. This blog will explore what Recovery Services Vaults are, the different types available, essential settings to configure, and key results to monitor for optimal backup management.
What Are Recovery Service Vaults (RSVs)?
Recovery Services Vaults are Azure-based storage entities designed to manage and store backups and site recovery data. They provide a unified experience for configuring backup policies and recovery points, making it easy to protect data for Azure Virtual Machines (VMs), SQL databases, on-premises servers, and more. RSVs are essential for ensuring data recovery in case of accidental deletion, corruption, or other data loss events.
Understanding the Components of RSVs
To better understand how RSVs function, it’s essential to look at the key components and their roles, along with how they relate to backup management and policy types. The table below provides a breakdown:
| Component | Role | Relation | Types | Example |
| Recovery Service Vaults (RSVs) | Central repository for storing backups and policies | Holds all backups and policies for various workloads | N/A | Stores backups for VMs, SQL databases, and Azure Files. |
| Policy Type | Defines the backup schedule, frequency, and retention | Applied to backup items (e.g., VMs, databases) within the RSV | Default Policy, Enhanced Policy, Hourly Log Backup | Daily VM backup policy with 30-day retention. |
| Backup Management Type | Specifies the workload type (e.g., VM, SQL, Azure Files) | Determines the applicable policy and backup behavior | Azure Backup Agent,
Azure Virtual Machine, Azure Backup Server, Azure Files, SQL DB in Azure VM, DPM, SAP HANA in Azure VM
|
Azure Virtual Machine backup using an enhanced policy. |
Exploring Backup Management Types and associate Settings in Detail
Azure Recovery Services Vaults (RSVs) offer various Backup Management Types, each tailored to protect specific workloads by defining how data is backed up and restored.
| Backup Management Type | Description | Associated Settings | Example Use Case |
| Azure Backup Agent | Backs up on-premises files, folders, and system states to RSV | Azure Workload Settings | Protecting files on a physical server
|
| Azure Virtual Machine (VM) | Protects entire Azure VMs, including OS and data | VM Backup Settings | Daily VM backups with 30-day retention |
| Azure Backup Server | Backs up on-premises workloads (e.g., SQL, Exchange, Hyper-V) to Azure | Azure Workload Settings | Backing up on-premises databases |
| Azure Files (Azure Storage) | Protects Azure Storage file shares | Azure Storage Settings | Safeguarding enterprise file shares |
| SQL Database in Azure VM | Backs up SQL databases in Azure VMs with transaction consistency | Azure Workload Settings | Hourly backup of high-transaction databases |
| DPM (Data Protection Manager) | On-premises data protection integrated with Azure | Azure Workload Settings | Enterprise-wide data protection replicated to Azure |
| SAP HANA in Azure VM | Protects SAP HANA databases in Azure VMs | Azure Workload Settings | Weekly backup of large SAP HANA databases |
How does the Guard+ View help?
Guard+ provides a unified view to monitor all the Azure Recovery Service Vaults (RSVs), providing valuable insights into backup performance and status.
It consolidates key details, such as the different backup types, associated workloads, settings, and health status, allowing clients to track backup policies and retention schedules.
Guard+ also lists backup items for each type and includes access management features, enabling clients to monitor who has access to each RSV and their roles. This ensures only authorized users can modify or restore backups, enhancing security and compliance.
